News-Times, The (Danbury, CT), John Saward
NEWS-TIMES CORRESPONDENT

Published 1:00 am, Friday, October 8, 2004

DANBURY - Immaculate High forward Jose Corte-Real had two goals and an assist to lead the boys soccer team to a 5-0 South-West Conference victory over Stratford Thursday afternoon.

The Mustangs (2-7) hope the victory can spark a winning streak that will propel them back into the state playoff chase.

"You know if the kids play like this every game, I think we'll make the states," said Immaculate head coach Frank Barata.

A junior, Corte-Real has scored in six straight games and leads the Mustangs with 10 goals.

The fact that Stratford (2-7) is struggling in the SWC is not the only reason for the lopsided result.

Immaculate outshot Stratford 15-3, and did not allow a shot on goal until the second half. The Mustangs' deliberate offensive approach worked brilliantly, as they scored two of their first-half goals on deflections made possible by timely shot selection.

"We had control of the ball for most of the first half," said Mustang senior defender Jon Nelson. "That gave our offense plenty of time to keep the ball on their side."

Sophomore midfielder Ryan Soares sifted through opposing defenders at will and was a catalyst for much of the Mustangs' offensive firepower. His early goal shattered the tentativeness the team had played with for much of the season.

"This is the way we should have been playing for the past eight games," Barata said. "We played until the finish on this one. That's why we won."

The next challenge for Immaculate will come on Tuesday at home against New Fairfield.

"The team is starting to produce," Nelson said. "If we play like this we can get top eight in the conference and hopefully make states."
Immaculate (2-7) 4 1 - 5